Coin gauge cover



Feb. 1, 1955 T. F. CASSIDY, JR 2 ,701*,044

com GAUGE COVER Filed Dec. 16, 1949 INVENTOR. ,225.3; i THOMAS E CASSIDYJR. 7 By 2a U Z 2) ATTORNEY United States Patent() COIN GAUGE COVERThomas F. Cassidy, Jr., Evanston, Ill., assignor to Automatic ElectricLaboratories, Inc., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware ApplicationDecember 16, 1949, Serial No. 133,328

3 Claims. (Cl. 1941) This invention relates in general to a cover forcoin slots and more particularly to a dust excluding cover carryingindicia posted thereon.

The cover to be described hereinafter finds ready adaptation to use witha coin gauge of a coin operated telephone and the preferred embodimentshown in the accompanying drawings illustrates the device as applied toa pay-telephone.

An object of the invention is to provide a suitable transparent coverfor excluding dust from entering coin slots on coin operated devices aswell as providing a coin obstructing surface at the point of coinapplication for carrying indicia.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for the easy andconvenient opening or lifting of the cover.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a cover in keepingwith the above objects which is easily mounted on existing coin operatedequipment as well as being durable and of comparatively low cost tomanufacture.

A feature of the invention lies in the plurality of recesses and tabswhich permit any person, regardless of his dexterity, to easily operatethe cover.

Another feature of the invention resides in the employment of a bowedpintle upon which the cover is rotated, and which permits milling out ofits carriage rather than a more expensive boring operation thereof.

A further feature of the invention resides in the positioning of a fiatcoin obstructing surface at the exact point at which a person wishing toactuate the device to which it is attached must first have his attentiondirected to indicia or a message thereon.

Still another feature of the invention resides in the clear plasticcover material which permits one to see the location and denomination ofthe coin gauge notwithstanding that it is covered.

These and other objects and features will be more particularly pointedout in the ensuing specification taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a front elevation of the invention as adapted to awell-known telephone pay-station which is shown in art. p Figure 2 is aside elevation of the device as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a rear elevation of the device as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an enlarged front elevation of the unmounted cover andpintle.

Figure 5 is an enlarged top view of the cover and pintle as shown inFigure 4.

A detailed description of the invention follows.

The cover 1 comprises two angularly disposed and transparent wallshaving plane surfaces 2 and 3 which are rigidly connected and angularlydisposed to one another. Any suitable solid transparent material may beemployed. The preferred embodiment illustrated is made from two piecesof clear plastic that are joined together as hereinafter described. Useof this particular material is not arbitrary and its purpose will be setout hereinafter.

The planes of surfaces 2 and 3 are preferably at right angles. As mostcoin gauges or slots for coin operated devices are atop or near the topsof these devices, surface 2 is more or less vertically disposed whilesurface 3 is more or less horizontally disposed, the purposes for whichwill be made apparent hereinafter. Beneath surface 3 and rigidly aflixedthereto, preferably by a plastic 2,701,044 Patented Feb. 1, 1955 cement,is a pintle carriage or sleeve 4. In the preferred form this carriage iscross-sectionally U-shaped due to the pintle carrying groove 5 therein.It is to be understood, however, that an annular bore could besubstituted therefor at a somewhat higher production cost. Carriage 4 ispositioned parallel to surface 2 and between said surface and the rearedge 3:: of surface 3.

Within slot 5 is placed a bowed pintle 6 projecting slightly beyond theends of carriage 4. These projecting ends of pintle 6 may be suitablyjournalled into ears 7a of a mounting 7. The degree of bowing is suchthat it is slightly greater than the depth of the carriage groove 5. Inthis manner pintle 6 may be forced into carriage 4 and be held immovabletherein. In the preferred embodiment illustrated, pintle 6 is journalledto ears 7a of mounting 7 thereby rotatably mounting cover 1. A base 7bof the mounting is bored with four holes so that it can be afiixed tothe coin operated device by bolts or rivets. In the drawings base 7b isplaced beneath a name plate 8 and affixed to the pay telephone case 9 bythe same bolts 8a which formerly affixed the name plate.

The placement of the pintle 6 is arranged so that surface 2 of the coverrests flush against the face of coin gauge 10. In this manner, surface 3shields the gauge from dust settling out of the air while surface 2prevents entrance of foreign matter carried in the air from entering thecoin slots directly.

The lower corners of surface 2 have inwardly indented, smoothly curvedrecesses 2a and the-reabove partially defining them are extensions 2b.The other surface 3 rearward of pintle 6 tapers into a tab 3b.

Across surface 2 is placed printed indicia or a message to prospectiveusers of the coin operated device. Particularly in coin telephones,customers will insert coins before reading instructions. The indiciaproposed in the preferred embodiment states that such directions shouldbe read before inserting a coin along with an arrow pointing to Wheresuch directions are to be found. The placing of this indicia at thisparticular point is very important because before a pay telephone of anytype can be effectively used, coins must be inserted. Therefore, boldindicia at this very point of coin insertion cannot well be ignored andthe import of such indicia is not lost. This indicia may be placed onsurface 2 in any suitable manner. In the preferred embodiment of clearplastic as illustrated, the indicia may be hot stamped and then a brightpigment applied into the indentations of the stamping sharply settingout the indicia.

Assuming that a customer desiring to actuate the coin operated deviceprepares to insert a coin, an ordinary cover would obscure both theposition of the coin gauge as well as the denomination of coins whichthe gauge will accept. The transparent plastic cover not only protectsthe coin chutes from accumulating dust, or other foreign matter whichmay cause mechanical failure or even circuit failures in the actuatingor coin disposal circuits within the substation itself due to itssettling into the mechanism or onto circuit controlling contacts, butalso enables the user to quickly locate the gauge and determine whichdenominations are acceptable notwithstanding that the gauge is covered.The coin gauge or entrance slot visible thru cover 1 is blocked bysurface 2 and of necessity his attention is directed thereto. At thispoint, the indicia across the front surface 2 is inescapable. Havingread the indicia, the cover is operated by placing a finger into eitherof the recesses 20, depending upon whether the person is right or lefthanded, and exerting a slight upward pressure thereby rotating it. Ifthe person is not so inclined to operate the device thusly, he may placea finger or fingers on the tab portion 311 of surface 3 and pressdownward. In either instance, the cover 1 is rotated on pintle 6journalled to ears 7a of the mounting member 7. A coin or coins may nowbe inserted into a dust free mechanism, thereby insuring that there willoccur no false operation from accumulation of dust therewith. After thecoins have been inserted, cover 1 gravitationally returns to normal.

An advantage incident in having a bowed pintle 6 is that the carriage 4may then be milled for groove 5 instead of bored. Another advantage isrealized in mounting the cover 1. The bowed pintle 6 is merely pressedthru an ear 7a, thence thru slot 5 and finally thru the other ear 7a-.In this manner, the highest portion of the bow is tightly held againstthe underside of surface 3 so that no crimping or peening of the ends ofthe pintle is necessary. The bowed pintle further cooperates with slot 5to eliminate any play between pintle and carriage 4.

The cover 1 as described is susceptible also of being molded in onepiece and the inventor desires it to be known that he contemplates sucha molded device as well as the preferred embodiment illustrated anddescribed herein.

Having described my invention and its operation in detail, what I claimis:

1. In a telephone paystation the combination of a coin gauge having aplurality of coin apertures in a downwardly and rearwardly sloping flatface thereof and a transparent cover for said apertures comprising aunit of transparent material having two sections disposed at rightangles to each other, one of said sections comprising a flat portionlarger than the face of said coin gauge, the other of said sectionscomprising a rearwardly extending portion having a pintle carriageextending longitudinally thereof at the middle of said section, a bowedpintle extending through said carriage and having its ends journalled inbearings adjacent said gauge, said cover thereby rotatable about saidpintle, said weight of said flat portion of said one section and of thatportion of said rearwardly extending section in front of said carriagecausing said one section to always engage said coin gauge in such amanner that said flat portion rests flush against said downwardly andrearwardly sloping fiat face of said coin gauge thereby individuallycovering each of said apertures when said cover is in its naturalposition, a back part on said other section rearward of said pintlecarriage acting as a flap whereby a coin depositor may lift said onesection from the coin gauge by depressing said flap, and ends on saidone section extending out from the sides of said gauge to enable a coindepositor to also engage either of said ends to lift said one sectionfrom engagement with said coin gauge face.

2. In a telephone paystation the combination of a coin gauge having aplurality of coin apertures in a clownwardly and rearwardly sloping fiatface thereof and a transparent cover for said apertures comprising aunit of transparent material having two sections disposed at rightangles to each other, one of said sections comprising a fiat portion ofthe approximate area of said sloping face, the other of said sectionscomprising a rearwardly extending portion having a pintle carriageextending longitudinally thereof at the middle of said section, a bowedpintle extending through said carriage and having its ends journalled inbearings adjacent said gauge, said cover rotatable about said pintle,said weight of said fiat portion of'said one section and of that portionof said rearwardly extending section in front of said carriage causingsaid one section to always engage said coin gauge in such a manner thatsaid fiat portion rests flush against said downwardly and rearwardlysloping flat face of said coin gauge thereby individually covering eachof said apertures when said cover is in its natural position, a backpart on said other section rearward of said pintle carriage acting as aflap whereby a coin depositor may lift said one section from the coingauge by depressing said flap.

3. In a telephone paystation the combination of a coin gauge with aplurality of coin apertures in a downwardly and rearwardly sloping flatface thereof and a transparent cover for said apertures comprising aunit of transparent material having two sections disposed at rightangles to each other, one of said sections comprising a flat portionlarger than the face of said coin gauge, the other of said sectionscomprising a rearwardly extending portion having a pintle carriageextending longitudinally thereof at the middle of said section, a bowedpintle extending through said carriage and having its ends journalled inbearings adjacent said gauge, said cover rotatable about said pintle,the weight of said fiat portion of said one section and of that portionof said rearwardly extending section in front of said carriage causingsaid one section to always engage said coin gauge in such a manner thatsaid flat portion rests flush against said downwardly and rearwardlysloping flat face of said coin gauge thereby individually covering eachof said apertures when said cover is in its natural position, and endson said one section extending out from the sides of said gauge to enablea coin depositor to engage either of said ends to lift said one sectionfrom engagement with said coin gauge ace.

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